The House Next Door
by WhisperMaw
Summary: No one had ever lived there long.No one except the Fidels...When Medea gets curious it might be more than the cat she kills. It might be the son of the most famous wizard who ever lived. Or maybe the daughter of his best friends.
1. The Post

Ever since I was five years old I knew I wanted to stand out. I liked to be the best at everything. You know; the one who the gym teacher complimented for good form, or the kid that was _always_ having their projects kept as an example for future students. That was me.

Like I said, it started at age five. I'd made friends with a particularly talented young reader named Ellie Trenton. She could comprehend literature at the sixth grade reading level. I, on the other hand, could only read at Level Four. All of the kindergarten teachers fawned over her. This extended to Mr. Rapino. He'd been especially fond of _my_ 3rd grade arithmetic skills earlier that year. I became very jealous of the attention Ellie Trenton was receiving. Our friendship didn't last long and neither did her exceedingly fair reading scores. She dropped down to the average kindergarten level within the week. No friendship of mine has lasted since. Striving for the top came with a lot more trouble than I'd originally understood.

By third grade very few of my peers even bothered speaking to me. When group work was involved teachers had to assign someone to collaborate with me; they all knew it was dreadful working with the most competitive little git of a girl in school. I hadn't even noticed my solitude. In my eyes I was exceptionally pretty, impressively bright, and incredibly popular. My ego was as swollen as a nine month pregnant woman. When 4th grade rolled around I'd begun to go by my real name, Medea. Behind my back, however, that became Mad Medea. Stupid and childish if you ask me, but it was cruel. I pretended not to hear the malicious whispers and poisonous stares. Deep down inside it was beginning to take its toll. I couldn't keep diluting the truth. I knew why things had come to the point they had. The worst part of it was the fact that I didn't regret a thing; I still felt a strong sense of superiority over every single kid in my school.

Strange things had begun to happen to the people who spoke ill of me when my back was turned. One 'fell' off of the jungle gym and broke an arm during recess, some split open appendages during Art class, a handful mysteriously came up with bloody knees and elbows with no recollection of an incident that could've caused it and I relished in their pain. I knew that I had something to do with the 'klutziness' of my classmates. I could feel a tug in the pit of my stomach or a tingling in the tips of my fingers whenever an Occurrence was imminent and it made me feel undeniably extraordinary. Although it took a while (nearly half the year) the realization that ailment seemed to befall anyone who dared talk smack about me finally managed to pierce the thick skulls of my class. Around that same time a new girl had joined room 16 B's 4th Grade, much to my dismay, might I add.

Her name was Leona Mara Croga. She made sure people called her Leo. 'Leona sounds like some ancient Egyptian spaz,' she'd whine something like that if you dared call her by her true name. I completely understood. I went by Logan, my middle name, for the first half of my life. Medea was too strange but I'd come to realize it made me more unique. Anyways, Leo was an absolute nightmare. She had this flawless skin totally lacking in the orange splotches of awkwardly shaped freckles that plagued my own face. Her eyes were startling. One was apple green; solid and unchanging. The other seemed like a chameleon. It was always changing to match whatever shade of blue or green or even violet that it picked up on Leo's person. I couldn't help but wish my own; plain mahogany wood brown ones were more interesting, like hers. On top of porcelain skin and hypnotizing eyes she had hair the color of a polished Golden Oak finish. It shimmered with metallic blonde but had grain of deep brown running through it. I will say that I find my own locks to be much more sought after but that's not important right now. Leo is what I need to be telling about.

I had to see her every single day at school and I dreaded it. Everyone liked her and she was good at everything. No matter how hard I studied for the upcoming tests, she'd manage to get 100% while I only got a 99. No matter how much money my mom spent at the craft store to make sure my projects stood out, hers would bedazzle them further.

If I thought my frustration couldn't worsen, I was terribly mistaken. When I realized the house next door to mine; tan with wood crossings all around (Tudor style, that's what my mom called it), had been sold to none other than the Crogas, I knew my life had certainly gone to hell. It'd been on and off the market since as long as I can remember. Nobody ever seemed to live in it long. A couple of months total, with the exception of the Fidels. They had managed two whole years there. I was seven going on eight when they moved in.

The Fidel family always was an interesting bunch. All five of them had the same thin, mousy brown hair and plain blue eyes. I never did learn what Besnik Fidel did for a living. I know that he left the house next door to mine every afternoon at the same time and once I caught him returning in the middle of the night when I'd been roused from my sleep by a nightmare. I'd found the mystery of Mr. Besnik quite intriguing. Fidelia Fidel stayed at home all day with her children. In all there were three Fidel kids: Sabira, Adelah (she usually went by Adel), and Alvie (he usually went by Al). I didn't see much of Sabira, besides the two summers that the Fidel's stayed. During the school year I'd never even caught a glimpse of her. I asked Adel about it once and she told me that when she and Al turned eleven (they were twins) they'd be away during the fall, winter, and spring months as well. It turned out Fidelia taught them from home up until that point and then sent them away to boarding school. Sabira was five years older than us. Out of all the people I've met, Al and Adel had come closest to what I'd consider a friend. We were all the same age, I didn't see them at school, and Al and Adel weren't competitive in the slightest anyways. I woke up on a Saturday in September to find the FOR SALE sign I'd seen too many times driven in to the front lawn. I haven't seen or heard from any of the Fidel's since. I'd decided from that point on that anyone who moved into that house wasn't worth my time. As it turned out, that was especially true for Leo.

Leo was invading every aspect of my life. Well, the two aspects of my life that were in existence: home life and more importantly school life. I was about to pitch myself off of a bridge when June rolled around. The only thing that kept me going was that she wouldn't be lasting much longer in that house. It was cursed or jinxed or whatever.

School had just let out and I was sitting at home, alone, when the Friday post arrived. I sorted through the usual amount of bills and advertisements. That's when I saw it; the letter. It was crinkled a little at the corners of the envelope but the swooping emerald green letters read clear as day:

_Medea Logan Nathair_

_Number 7 Baile Lane_

_Oxford, England_

I rarely got any emails or texts, let alone letters. Eagerly I slit the top and pulled out the thick bundle of parchment it contained. What I read left me sitting on my front porch shaking with fear and shock and happiness all at once. That is how Leo found me on my front porch; rocking back and forth, like a deranged lunatic. I couldn't have been more humiliated.

SO this is next gen. I just wanted to see what reactions it got before I keep on going with it. I do have a relatively strong idea for the plot. Al Sev, James Sirius, Rosie, etc. will be included in coming chapters. I must say that if I do decide to continue it (all depends on you) I can't wait to share the Fidel characters. They're going to be such fun, especially the twins, but not in the same way the Weasley twins were fun. These guys are a whole different group. Please REVIEW! By the way this chapter was rather shorter than I originally intended so expect longer chapters if this is continued :)


	2. Long Forgotten

Being a witch; that's pretty damn legit, and you'd think that it'd make one feel extremely special and all that jazz. And trust me, I did feel special for about the five minutes I had to enjoy it. When Leo bounded up the front porch steps and took a seat next to me, I just wanted to tell her off. I was witch and she wasn't! Ha! I'd opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, honestly considering boasting. Before I'd actually reached a conclusion, Leo reached one for me. A yellowed, torn, and already opened envelope was revealed when she pulled up the shirt tail of her button up top. My heart had literally sunken all the way down to my feet. So much for being exceptional, I guess.

"Did you get yours yet? Mummy said you'd be getting one. You's a muggle born, you's are," Leo was grinning incessantly, whereas a look of disdain had grown on my lips with every word she had said. Partly because I didn't understand most of what she'd just rushed out, but mostly I simply couldn't stand Leo.

"What in the Lord's name is a muggle?" I growled, staring at the ground, refusing to have met Leo's unusual eyes. From the corner of my eye, however, I noticed that she did look a little crestfallen at my lack of knowledge. That, of course, brought on a bit of bittersweet happiness. She still knew something I didn't but at least she wasn't rubbing it in my face.

"Muggles are non-magical folks. Like your parents and our classmates at school," Leo answered finally; her usual ecstatic drawl had died down a little.

There was a silence hanging in the air as I calculated my options. My thoughts drifted to the long list of things I would need to purchase for my year at school. My mom wasn't going to be too happy to pay for any of it when I told her, but then, my mom wasn't really that happy of a person. Besides, I didn't have a clue where I was going to find a wand that worked and a copy of Standard Book of Spells. I had a feeling none of the required text was something that I was going to find by just waltzing into Barnes and Noble and asking for it. Leo's mom had already known about me…"Leo, is your mum a witch?"

"Yea…So's me dad," she replied quickly, she sounded like she desperately wanted to fill the silence. I sat quietly for a moment or two longer than I needed to just so I could subtly add to her discomfort.

"Look I know that you and I never really got on much at school," I paused; trying to find the right phrasing. It needed to sound genuine. "I'm real sorry that I was such a git, but I was really just jealous of you," that was the half-truth of it at least. I was jealous of her. I was not sorry.

"Jealous? Why were you jealous?" Leo seemed genuinely curious.

"You're smart and pretty and all of that," I mumbled begrudgingly.

"So are you," Leo had said calmly.

"Only because I try so hard to be," I mumbled. There was truth to that statement, a lot of it.

I was surprised that my mom hadn't returned with the groceries yet. It wasn't that I really had cared that much because, trust me when I say that I didn't. The longer my mom stayed gone the better.

"Hard work is a good thing," said Leo carefully, like she was afraid one false word would set me off. Usually that was true, but she had something that could come in handy.

"I guess. So, I don't really know much about this whole wizarding thing…" I trailed off hoping that Leo would get the hint.

"Oh don't worry. Me mum and dad will have no reserves giving you's a hand up. Both Hogwarts alum, they are," her chest puffed out a little bit at the latter and her lips had turned up at the sides.

It was then that my mom had swerved in to the driveway. Her wheels had screeched against the asphalt as she'd slammed on her brakes to avoid crashing into the white siding of our house. The grocers must not have gone to well; my mom had one of her infamous scowls plastered across her gray-skinned face. I'd seen pictures of my mom when she was a lot younger. They were all from back before my dad died. She'd had a beautiful tan complexion, a round smiling face with plump lips and hazel eyes. These days her cheeks were sunken and her mouth pressed to a thin grimacing line. Her once shining auburn hair hung in drab clumps.

"I'll be going now," I'd nearly forgotten Leo was still sitting next to me until she spoke. Her eyes had been shifting back and forth uneasily between me and my mom as she stood up to leave. I gave her a weak, forced smile and waved her off.

"Medea," my mom had murmured, dangerously quiet. I hated it when she got into a state like this one. It scared me. Her eyes were sharp daggers, coated in poisonous grief. "Unload the groceries, please."

I nodded and sauntered nostalgically towards the car. A memory of my dad, sister, and me doing just that had come into my head. I couldn't have been older than four or five. We were all smiling and laughing, even my mom. I felt the prickle of tears in the back of my throat and forced myself to swallow the memory as well as the crying fit I was on the verge of. I had more important things to be worrying about.

Like, how was I supposed to tell my mom I was magical without her sending me to an insane asylum? I replayed multiple scenarios in which I told her in my head that day. Even in my mind I sounded like a complete nutter.

`Maybe I could just show her the letter…No; because she'd probably try to tell me it was a nasty prank someone from school was trying to pull on me...Wait what if it is some cruel idea of a joke and Leo was just playing along…` my thoughts went on like that as I emptied out the hatch of my mother's silver Nissan Queste. When at last the final Giant bag had been unloaded on the kitchen, I turned to look my mother in her cold, lightless, hazel eyes.

"Mum," I began my voice had shaken more than I'd intended it to. "I got a letter today…It said I was w-well ac-c-cepted into a s-s-special school,"

Her eyes seemed to suddenly focus in on me; like she hadn't really been looking at me until then.

"Special school?" her voice was hoarse, from lack of use. We rarely spoke anymore. When dad died things got quiet. When Bindi left things got silent.

"For…for…" I wanted to tell her but I was afraid. I'd seen my mom lose her temper; I'd skipped a page on a Social Studies test and got a C. The neighbors at the time almost called the cop.

"Dee Dee, spit it out," I flinched at the sound of my pet name. It must've been years since she'd called me that.

"Witch," I had finally blurted out. "I'm a witch mum."

There was a heavy quietness. I wrung my hands out, anticipating what she would say when she blew. And then…

"I'm proud of you," the ghost of a smile had played on her lips; Perdita Nathair was not quite allowing it to become tangible, yet it was _almost_ there.

"W-what?" my eye brows had come together slightly in confusion.

"When you were seven years old, right after Bind—" her voice cracked and I had seen the pain that crossed her so I finished for her.

"When I made the fire dance like a cobra?" Mom had nodded to confirm that this was the memory she had meant.

My mother and I talked for longer than we had in ages that day. The overcast grey sky had turned a crystal shade of blue and the sun was lowering itself towards the western horizon by the time there talk had concluded. I had showed her the letter and told of Leo's proposition. She seemed to be taking everything too well. It scared me.

The summer before I turned 11 went rather quickly. I had spent a lot of time with Leo. She turned out to be just as insufferable and annoying as I'd originally thought but I kept up the friendly act.

On August the 25th Mrs. Cora had taken Leo and me to London. She bumbled brightly the entire train trip there about how much we'd love Hogwarts:

"Oh you'll love the sorting. Leo will be Gryffindor, no doubt, just like her mum and dad…I hope you'll come to like Quidditch Medea…"

"Wait," I looked up at Mrs. Cora's smiling, plump face. "Sorted?"

"Oh yes m'dear," she replied with a start; she'd forgotten how oblivious I was to all of this. "At Hogwarts there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Each house was named after one of the four founders of the school."

"I still don't quite understand," I said precisely; giving a sideways glance away from my companions. "How are we sorted?"

"It all depends on the kind of person you are," piped up Leo. She'd been staring out the locomotive's window; watching the scenery as it sped by and changed.

Mrs. Cora vigorously nodded her head, "Yes. Gryffindor is known for its reckless students. They're brave and they have a certain disregard towards the rules. They're usually really outgoing and fiercely loyal."

"That's where I'll be—" started Leo for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah," I muttered under my breath, "we know."

"Leo, darling, don't interrupt," said Mrs. Cora in a slightly sharper tone than anything else I'd heard her say yet. "Anyways, ah, where were we?"

"Ravenclaws," I answered.

"Oh, yes. Ravenclaw house is known for their sharp, clever minds and haughty demeanor. Many of them are rather quirky and odd. All of them are especially bright," she continued.

"Slytherins?" I asked.

"Bunch of rotten, selfish, right gits if you ask me," said Leona venomously. They sounded just like my kind of people.

"Leo, enough with the house hate. Your father needs to stop filling your head with Merlin knows what," Leo's mum had said with a scolding look towards her daughter. She then turned to me, "Slytherin house is full of ambitious, driven students. They're competitive and cunning and they have it out for Gryffindor house."

I had to suppress a smile. Slytherin sounded like it had been made for me. I was hardly listening when Mrs. Cora explained to characteristic of Pufflemuff. At least, I think it was Pufflemuff. I might've misheard. They were supposedly loyal and friendly or something.

The rest of the train ride passed quickly. Leo's mum helped pull my trunk out from the overhead compartments and we all exited the car. I'd never seen London and all the hustle and bustle had come as a pleasant surprise. I found myself staring out the strange fashion statements being made and admiring them. Nothing, however, head impressed me nearly as much as the run down pub we walked into. It was just brimming with warmth. I got this strange tingling in the pit of my stomach. It was a familiar feeling but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I was looking curiously at the drinks on the pub's menu when a pale fine-haired brunette girl walked in front of me. Her nose was sprinkled and she had rosy, windblown cheeks. I knew her. It was Adelah Fidel.

And I knew that feeling; it was long forgotten comfort.

AN: Sorry the update took so long! I hope you guys like this chapter, it was more of a filler chapter. Yeep :)


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